Psych

As I’ve written in multiple posts previously, I’m a total slut for mysteries, whether it’s books, TV, movies, and even games. A mystery is to me the culmination of a well-constructed plot and engages the reader/viewer/player more than anything else.

While there have been many good mystery series on TV, most of them tend to focus on police procedure and violence, especially those in recent years/decades. One great series that puts more focus on comedy, wit, and a nice dash of irreverent 80s references is Psych.

Debuting in 2006, Psych was the second mystery/crime hit for the USA Network, following Monk‘s debut in 2002. In this series though, the eccentricities have been dialed way back, and we also get phenomenal chemistry and interesting interactions between all the main actors. Even in the very first pilot episode, Sean and Gus already have a great background story growing up in Santa Barbara. Once he is caught and nearly in jail for trying to help solve a case for the police, Sean desperately relies on the skills he acquired growing up with a single father who was a detective for the very same police department.

Wowing the officers and getting off the hook with the detectives, the chief pulls Sean in on another case, and not before long Sean pulls in Gus to start a psychic detective case. It sounds as wild as Gus’ exasperated look belies, but Sean is a very keen observer with a photographic memory, assisting the police and his own clients solve everything from robberies, missing persons, hauntings, and of course murders.

Over the course of 8 seasons, the actors and characters have a very nice growth and maturity. In the center would have to be Sean and Juliet’s relationship, as his crush is agonizingly and slowly, but surely, returned by Juliet, and it’s a very sweet friendship as well as romance that we get. Sean also repairs and grows the relationship with his father, and that is also really nice to see. Sean’s friendship with Gus is pretty steady with a few ups and downs throughout the series, much like a normal friendship should be.

In conclusion, it’s really nice to see a series like this come along, something that truly has its heart and mind in a good place, and isn’t overly violent, mean, or anything else drastic that seems to overwhelm TV these days.